Does a telephone answering service in Sheffield have to be in Sheffield?
No. A telephone answering service in Sheffield has to answer Sheffield businesses' phones properly, and that does not depend on a city centre postcode. Reception Hub has one address, in Wath upon Dearne in the neighbouring borough of Rotherham, and no office in Sheffield. Your callers ring your number, a person answers with your greeting, and you receive what was said in writing.
Some providers list an address in every city they sell to. We would rather tell you where the phone is picked up and let you judge the service on the calls.
Why does a missed call hurt more in a city?
Because the caller has more places to go. Somebody in Crookes looking for an electrician, or in Woodseats looking for a hair appointment on Saturday, has a screen full of names. If yours rings out, the next one is a thumb's width further down. They have little reason to leave a message, and less to try again later.
That is the uncomfortable part of running a business in a big place: there are more customers, and every one of them has an alternative. Being answered can be the only thing that separates you from the next result.
Your 0114 number stays exactly as it is
Nothing about your number changes. Sheffield numbers are 0114 followed by seven digits, and whether yours is one of those or a mobile, it stays on the van, the shop front and the website. You set a divert, and calls come to us at the times you pick: every call, only the ones you do not answer, or only when the line is busy.
The codes for doing that on each mobile network are in our guide to diverting your mobile to an answering service. Switching it off again is one code.
Who uses it?
People on the tools
A plumber in a cellar in Walkley has no signal and wet hands. The call is taken, the address and the problem are written down, and on Growth and Premium the visit can be booked before they are back above ground. There are separate pages for plumbers, electricians, gas engineers and builders.
People with a client in front of them
A stylist in Hillsborough cannot leave a colour half applied, and a practitioner in Ecclesall cannot break off a consultation. The pages for salons and aesthetics clinics explain how bookings and the more delicate calls are handled.
People at a desk
For a practice, the phone is less about emergencies and more about interruptions. The page for accountants shows how new enquiries are sorted from client calls that only you can answer.
Who is the caller when the house is rented?
Sheffield has two universities, so rented houses and flats come with the territory, and a repair in a rented house has more than one person in it. The tenant rings because the shower has stopped working. The landlord decides whether it gets fixed. A letting agent may sit between them and hold the keys.
A message that only says "shower broken, call back" leaves you to untangle that on the phone. So the questions can be written into your script: is the caller the tenant, the landlord or the agent, who is paying, and who can let you in. You ring back knowing whether you are speaking to the person who can say yes.
What is worth writing into your notes?
Some of the questions callers ask are about place, and only you know the answers. Before the first call, decide:
- Which parts of Sheffield you cover, and which you would rather not. A caller in Darnall and a caller out at Stocksbridge are a long way apart.
- Whether you take jobs in the city centre, and what you need from the customer about parking or access.
- Whether you work in flats, and anything you need to know first, such as the floor and whether there is a lift.
- Whether you charge to come out and look.
None of these has a right answer. They only need to be the same answer on every call.
What would a day of messages look like?
Three made-up calls, to show what arrives on your phone. None of them is a real customer.
- 9.40am. A landlord with a flat in Heeley. Boiler pressure keeps dropping. Tenant is in after three. Wants a call back today.
- 1.15pm. A homeowner in Totley asking for a price to rewire a garage. Told you price after a visit. Free on Thursday or Friday morning.
- 4.50pm. A sales call about card machines. Logged, not passed on as urgent.
All three land on your phone as they happen, by text and by email. The third matters as much as the first two. Sorting out the calls that were never work is part of the job, and it is time you get back.
What happens to calls after five o'clock?
It depends on the plan. Light and Essential cover business hours. Growth and Premium come with out-of-hours options, for the customers who only get round to ringing once they are home from work. The exact hours are worth asking for at the start, and worth having in writing.
What does it cost, and is it worth it?
There are four plans, and the difference between them is mostly volume. The two smaller ones answer the phone and take the message: Light gives you 30 calls a month for £59, and Essential gives you 50 for £129. Growth is £249 with 100 calls, and it is the first plan that books appointments, transfers callers and asks your qualifying questions. Premium is £399 with 150 calls and brings in callbacks, chasing quotes and a monthly block of admin time.
Go over your allowance and each extra call is charged on its own, at a rate that falls as the plan gets bigger. You pay the setup fee once, from £49.50, normally £99. The full table is on plans and pricing.
Whether it pays is a sum you can do yourself. Say you miss five calls a week. That is 260 a year. Assume only one in five would have become work, which is deliberately cautious, and that is 52 jobs. At £120 a job, the missed calls are worth £6,240 a year. Light costs £708 a year. Put your own numbers through the calculator on the homepage and it will show the same working.
How do you start from Sheffield?
The same way as from anywhere: a seven-day trial, free, with no card. Nobody needs to visit you and you do not need to visit us. The setup is done by phone and email, and the telephone answering service page lists what we will ask you for.
Call 01709 222834, or use the contact page. The other places we answer for are under areas.